A Noite em que Evelyn Saiu do Túmulo

This creepy Italian thriller tells the story about a widowed lord who still suffers from the memory of the death of his red-haired wife Evelyn who betrayed him. So the aristocrat lures red-haired prostitutes into his castle to take revenge on his dead wife again and again: He whips them before he kills them.

But he's obviously not the only whacko in this film, because after he has found a new wife - a blonde woman this time - he seems to be getting better, but strange things happen and there's even a gloved killer who murders a couple of people in quite nasty ways.

This film from the director of the fine Giallo "La Dama Rossa Uccide Sette Volte" (1972, see also my comment on that one) is a clever blending of gothic horror elements (a creepy castle, mysterious events taking place and an empty coffin that suggests that Evelyn indeed came out of her grave) and a typical Giallo story (gloved killer, nasty murders and some surprising twists during the climax). The only letdown is the slow paced start (after a great opening sequence, though), but the second half makes up for that in many ways. The film is not that gory, but there is one particularly gruesome scene when the killer batters a woman with a stone and then throws her into a fox cage - you actually see the foxes munch on her innards.

All in all an interesting and unusual film that is worth looking for (although it's not easy to get it on tape at the moment).

Lord Alan Cunningham has been a troubled man since the death of his wife. The only release he can find from his torment is by luring women that remind him of his dead wife to his castle and then brutally murdering them. That is until he meets Gladys. The two are quickly married and Lord Cunningham appears to be cured. But a series of strange events involving the possibility that his first wife has returned from the grave seems to send him over the edge.

The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave is one part Giallo and one part Gothic horror. It's not the greatest example of either sub-genre you'll run across, but I was reasonably entertained throughout. There are plenty of twists and turns in the plot to keep you guessing up to the very end. While I've seen enough of these Gialli that I'm rarely surprised anymore, there's no way I could have predicted all the twists in the last act. The acting is about average for this kind of film, but it was nice to see Marina Malfatti with a large role as Gladys. Most of the rest of the cast will be familiar to fans of 70s Italian films.

A word of warning about the DVD - there are a bunch of El Cheapo DVD companies out there that offer The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave. One appears to be about as good as the other. The best that can be said about these DVDs is that they are watchable (and I'm being generous). If this sounds like a movie that would be of interest, I've read that NoShame DVD has acquired the Region 1 rights. Based on their track record, it should be worth waiting for. I'll definitely upgrade once it's released.

Edit (5/7): NoShame's new DVD of The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave is, in a word, stunning - especially when compared with what's been available until now in Region 1. I have a new appreciation for the film and actually enjoyed it much more than I did just a couple of months ago. It's like watching a whole different movie.

Nice mix of giallo an Gothic horror, brought to you by Emilio Miraglia, writer/director of Red Queen Kills 7 Times. Maybe Miraglia likes red, as this is a tale of a dead red-headed wife, and a series of red-headed prostitutes brought home by the rich widower, Lord Alan Cunningham (Anthony Steffen).

Not only does Alan bring a lot of redheads home to his castle, which means a lot of flesh for your enjoyment, but he has a propensity to engage in a little sadism while he is at it, as Susan (Erika Blanc) finds out.

After Susan, he meets Gladys (Marina Malfatti) at a party. He is instantly attracted (and who wouldn't be?) even though she is a blond, not a redhead. So much so, that he asks her to marry before he even gets her in bed. She is much more practical, and goes to bed without marrying, though I suspect she feels it will lead there eventually.

When they are married, the title comes alive as does Evelyn, his first wife. Naturally, I suspected Albert (Roberto Maldera) and Aunt Agatha (Joan C. Davis) in this ruse, but that is quickly dispelled. Needless to say, the foxes didn't have any appetite for breakfast after a late night snack.

Things move forward with a double double cross and a surprise ending. Interesting giallo with boobilicious treats.

THE NIGHT EVELYN CAME OUT OF THE GRAVE (Emilio Miraglia - Italy 1971).

I only watched this delirious piece of Euro-tosh in the way of Alpha Video's dreadful DVD-release (looks like an extremely bad video-transfer), but from what I saw, not nearly interesting enough to purchase No Shame's recent DVD-release. Considering their excellent track record, it will undoubtedly be a major improvement over all previous releases. And don't pay attention to the ridiculous cover shown here, it's not taken from this film (some girl holding the head of a Jim Carrey look-a-like).

Spaghetti Western star Anthony Steffen sports a hip hairdo and assumes the role of Lord Alan Cunningham, a man haunted by the memory of his dead wife Evelyn. This leads to a nervous breakdown which has him being retained in a psychiatric clinic. Once released, Cunningham channels this trauma by taking redheaded prostitutes to his countryside castle, subjecting them to vicious acts of torture. His doctor and friend, Richard Timberlane (what do you mean, Italian horror names sound "made up?"), advises him to forget the past and remarry but Cunningham is obsessed with Evelyn and even organizes a séance at the castle. Eventually, after killing some more girls, he meets Gladys, another redhead, and marries her almost immediately, but the arrival of his new wife spawns a series of sinister events. Bloodthirsty creatures strike at Sir Alan's family, killing them off one by one. Becoming more distraught, Cunningham visits Evelyn's tomb and discovers it to be empty. Soon, a number of "outsiders" begin to suspect something fishy is going on in the castle and Lord Cunningham's treatment might not have been that successful after all.

Director Emilio Miraglia tries to blend Gothic horror with Giallo conventions with limited success. As usual, not the slightest effort was made to convince audiences the film is set in England. The cars drive on the right side of the road, everyone looks very Mediterranean and the castle (and the rest of the architecture) is patently Italian. This is common practice in Italian horror, but sometimes they just take this a little too far. The bad print made this even slightly bearable, since it's so dark, you couldn't see much of the surroundings anyway. But, then again, this is the kind of film where anything can happen in the name of exploitation and depicting reality isn't really the issue. A large part consists of sado-masochistic torture scenes in the castle torture chamber, but most of the time, Anthony Steffen hams his way through this and shows some horrible over-acting. I guess it all depends on your state of mind and this can be a fun piece of nonsense if you're in the right mood. I just couldn't take it, at least not with the print I watched. A pleasant score though by Bruno Nicolai which combines easy-listening tunes with some psychedelic rock numbers.

Camera Obscura --- 4/10

Emilio Miraglia's crossover between Gothic horror and Italy's finest cinematic export, the Giallo, really is a delightful film for the fan of cult horror. While the movie is certainly no masterpiece, the story moves well and the imagery on display and imagination on the part of the director that is shown throughout elevates a rather simple tale of insanity and murder into an amazing slice of cult cinema. The title alone is graphic and lurid enough on its own, and I'm pleased to say that the film itself carries on this style throughout, with some well worked and ingenious death scenes, as well as plenty of nudity and some truly beautiful cinematography. The story takes place in a castle just outside London, England. We are introduced to Lord Alan Cunningham and a hooker that he is taking home. After brutally torturing and eventually killing her, we discover that his mental trauma is due to the loss of his wife, Evelyn. His friend and doctor talks him into remarrying to ease his mental anguish, and that's a piece of advice that he takes upon meeting the ravishing Gladys...

Despite the fact that this film is very much a piece of schlock cinema, the director appears to have taken it very seriously, and the result is a film that puts a lot of emphasis on the plot and characters, and ultimately this means a stronger show as Miraglia takes time to draw his audience in, rather than just showing blood and nudity and leaving it at that. The acting performances aren't bad, and even though Spaghetti Western star Antonio De Teffè is a little hammy, he convinces in his role; while Marina Malfatti provides eye-catching eye candy. The murder sequences on display are typically gruesome and beyond the immediately obvious, as we watch a woman being ripped apart by foxes and a scene that sees a man burn in a pool containing sulphuric acid. Bruno Nicolai's rock score works very well and brilliantly accents every scene. The film all boils down to a satisfying ending, which despite seemingly coming out nowhere; works well and adequately describes many of the loose ends up until the conclusion. Overall, while this film isn't the best of its kind; it's certainly a very good one and I'm sure that fans of cult cinema won't be disappointed!